Servant
are Heroic Spirits and Divine Spirits summoned by the for the purpose of competing under Masters in the Holy Grail War. Nature Servants are Heroic Spirits made into special familiars of the highest rank that are bound to the Master. Pure Heroic Spirits, the "main body" in the Throne of Heroes, can only be summoned by the World, and summoning even one is considered to be a miraculous occurrence. Differing from the normal definition of familiars that can be likened to minor mascots unable to be stronger than their masters, Heroic Spirits are the most powerful of beings with which even the five magicians would never be able to forge a contract with. Rather than it being a hard process to summon them or the fact that they far surpass magi, it is their intrinsic nature in that they are beings beyond magecraft. Magi can perform rituals to borrow their power to mimic them, but cannot summon actual Heroic Spirits themselves. Even the Holy Grail lacks the power to summon a true Heroic Spirit, so the process is facilitated by summoning them into one of seven vessels prepared beforehand. The makes a copy using information from the "main body" of the Heroic Spirit, an "emanation", that returns to them as information, in the form of a soul, upon the death of the Servant. Disconnected from the "main body", they are able to know of the actions of the Servant through records, as if reading a book. Due to this, any Heroic Spirit summoned in multiple Holy Grail Wars will lack knowledge of previous summonings. The only exemption is due to her . Similarly, as to how require a form invented by humans in order to take shape, Heroic Spirits need a form to exist in the world. The vessels, classes, act as their temporary name and method of existing. Acting like a "passport to the present", the vessel prepares them for their role as a familiar in advance, allows them to take on that role to help them take form, and brings them forth into the world. Each class identifies only the core skills of the Heroic Spirit because replication of all their abilities is impossible. Their main traits align with the class and are given form, matching the principal nature of the class. Only heroes matching the attributes of the classes are brought forth, allowing them to be summoned into any reflecting their abilities. Although too powerful to be controlled by humans, they are bound by three Command Spells, representing the Masters' "right to rule" over them, with obedience towards the Command Spells being the "absolute condition required for materialization." Due to the prospect of having a wish granted by the Holy Grail, it also serves as an incentive to cooperate with the Master, as well as requiring them for energy upkeep and acting as their anchor to the world. Killing them will normally go against their purpose, but the Command Spells protect the Master from those who would kill them to seek out one who would be more suitable. Characteristics Servants are beings able to switch between a and Material Body at will. While in spiritual form, they cannot be easily detected by enemies due to being invisible to the naked eye and most forms of scrying or be affected by physical interference. They can travel where they please without being impeded by walls, but they also cannot carry anything in that state. Their senses are limited to spiritual sensations, so they must materialize in order to fully experience normal senses when sharing a visual link with their Master. Their upkeep cost is low when not materialized, so many Masters prefer them to stay in spirit form to lower the cost of upkeeping them. Depending on the disposition of the Servant or a special case like Saber, such an order may be impossible. It is also hard for them to affect a Material Body in that state, so they must materialize to properly engage in combat. While they may bleed and take damage to their organs, their true being resides in a Spiritual Core they obtain upon first materializing. Their Material Body envelopes it, and damage must be inflicted on it in order for them to be defeated. It gradually diminishes under magical energy expenditure and while sustaining bodily damage, and their expenditure will escalate under such conditions. If it is damaged by powerful , curses, or Noble Phantasms, it will be destroyed, meaning that the Servant can no longer stay materialized. The heart and head are directly connected to it, so they are a Servant's greatest weaknesses. Sustaining damage will significantly weaken it, with some Servants having it instantly destroyed and some with Skills like being able to at least temporarily sustain themselves. While they have Material Bodies like humans, the composition is drastically different. They are of a much higher magnitude, so it is normally impossible for portions to be transplanted into a human. is able to obtain due to them being the same person. Normally the recipient would die of shock, but being even closer than twins allows the surgery to succeed. It is still too much for him even in that case, so being connected to it slowly kills him. , a , obtains 's heart, gaining the ability to transform and have a longer lifespan, yet his body is consumed by memories of Siegfried until it is no longer the same, ending up transforming into a . Heroic Spirit Possession is the process of a Heroic Spirit fusing with a human in some capacity. It is possible for a Servant to possess a human, fuse with a human to become a Demi-Servant, and for a human to act as a receptacle for the facilitation of the summoning to become a Pseudo-Servant. Normally the of Heroic Spirits would overwhelm those of humans, making it impossible for them to intermix and grant a human the powers of the Heroic Spirit. Pure souls like those of can have a better time accepting their power and withstanding transformation of the flesh. The act of a Heroic Spirit possessing a human for even a single second can be called a miracle in itself. *Possession **The is able to make the process work for by searching for a match with a compatible physical build, spiritual build, personality, and magical energy. The possession seals the target's former personality and spiritually installs the Heroic Spirit. After receiving clearance from the host personality, it performs a "cross-domain base anatomy backup" to be able to restore the target even if Ruler is killed. It adapts the physical and spiritual build, grants the Class Skills, grants knowledge of Heroic Spirits and the modern era, and inputs other required data. Overwriting and merging with the target's body and personality, Ruler notes having most of the target's memories. Rather than two personalities in one body, it is closer to that they merged into one. **Through an intermediary, like a part of a Heroic Spirit's body or a related implanted into someone's body, it can be possible to call down the Heroic Spirit directly from the Throne of Heroes to inhabit their body. The process requires something of great power like a Command Spell, and the transformation will only last a few minutes. Due to possessing 's heart, his soul, and through special Command Spells, is able to act as a shell for the body of Siegfried, retaining his own personality while being able to utilize Siegfried's abilities. **Some Servants possess abilities that can cause a strong effect on the body of the Master, so they are able to share a physical body with their Master. The Master can become close to an immortal existence for the duration of the Holy Grail War by not being able to die until the Servant dies, but it does not increase their power to the point where they would be able to fight an existence greater than an Assassin-class Servant. Alignment All Servants have an |属性|Zokusei}}, a status showing a clear representation of the mentality of the Servant, differing from the of magi. It is broken down into two parts, a combination of the principles they consider important to their personality. Principles are reflected as , , and , and their personalities are reflected as , , and . Berserker Servants have also displayed as a "principle", and and as their "personalities." Differences in personality will not result in major discord, but differing principles can make Servants resolving their differences of opinions difficult. While two Servants may have the same personalities as "good", like and , their Lawful and Chaotic principles lead to differing opinions. Upkeep Servants must maintain a certain amount of energy to remain materialized and fight, and they must have an anchor to the world, their Master or another physical being in order to remain in the world. Their current strength is reflected by their current stores of energy, so they will lose strength as they lose energy. The Grail itself provides most of the upkeep for Servants during the duration of the Holy Grail War, so Masters, granted to supply energy, do not need to provide vast amounts of energy normally. More energy intensive Servants like A-rank Servants and Berserker-class Servants can still pose a great threat should they not have the ability to provide their upkeep, even draining them to death in the case of Berserkers. Those who are cognizant are able to throttle the energy they intake, keeping their output to a minimum or using only their own stores when their Masters are unable to provide their full cost. If the Servant is without a Master, has issues with the Magical Paths, or has a Master unable to supply energy, they must supplement themselves elsewhere. As , they have the ability to consume the souls and minds of people and convert them into energy. Their basic abilities do not change from such nourishment, but they become tougher as their magical energy capacity increases. They can also intake semen or blood for energy depending on their method of processing it. Places like can naturally allow them to subside longer, and draining directly from leylines is possible for some. With a full stock of energy, they can subside for a time even with the constant cost of upkeep, and they regain some energy from their own daily. Remaining in spiritual form can decrease their upkeep, and while in material form, dematerializing weapons and armor can help cut it somewhat. Food can be converted to supply some energy, and sleeping can stop the consumption. This only helps when no action is taken due to even a single battle using upwards of twenty times as much energy as simply existing, so such methods are only stop-gaps compared to taking in souls. Even having a full supply will not help a Servant should they lose their anchor to the world with the loss of their Master, so they must quickly seek out another contract. While normally not much of a burden, their energy noticeably drains by the second without one. Depending on the amount of energy and upkeep cost, they may only be able to stay materialized for a brief time. can manage only two hours, while can last two days with a full supply of energy. Those with are able to subside without Master support far longer than others, allowing them a better chance to seek out another contract. Much like the class container, their anchor is a "passport to the current age", so losing that will mean being forced to return to the "outside." They cannot form proper contracts with other Servants, as spirits cannot link spirits to the World. Caster is able to summon , but it is an improper summoning with several complications; rather than her being his anchor, it is the mountain gate, so Assassin cannot leave the area. Without a Master, they are no different than regular spirits and may be affected by the Church's scripture. It is possible to remain materialized as a normal familiar after the Holy Grail War ends, but it greatly increases the cost without active support from the Grail. , a superior magus, has no issue in providing for upkeep, Noble Phantasm usage, and 's at the same time during the Holy Grail War, but in-turn requires the majority of her energy and Shirou's help in keeping Saber materialized after it ends in . The only one easily able to maintain a Servant is after becoming the Grail in , granting her a limitless supply that easily allows her to maintain . allows him to exist indefinitely by granting him A+ Independent Action, allowing him to exist for ten years with no issues. becomes incarnated through another method, allowing him to exist for about sixty years. Knowledge Those summoned as Servants are given the minimum information required to allow them to fit into any era. No matter how ancient the Heroic Spirit, they should understand a number of concepts that were not known in their time. The idea that may be shocked about the immediate world initially worries , but the knowledge makes such worry unnecessary. first believes that Saber may find flying on a plane to be an amazing experience, but it instead seems less than expected to her. Flying in a plane is also mitigated due to her Skill that could potentially even grant her the ability to fly it. While not given enough information to actually drive modern vehicles, higher ranks of Riding grant the ability to manage such through intuition even if they do not actually recognize what each separate control of a vehicle will actually perform what action. Conversely, even though understands the basic principles behind the concept of a plane, she is unnerved by the idea of a mass of metal flying through the sky and only has the relief that it did not fall out of the sky after landing. With language, displays the ability to speak English to his Master, , and also speak Japanese to , allowing him to easily translate between the two. The knowledge is not all-encompassing, so concepts may still have to be explained to them. is shocked at the true scope of the world compared to the area he had conquered in life, and needs to have certain areas shown to him on a map. He enjoys spending his time learning about different aspects of the world such as wars since his time, and details like the price of a stealth bomber are not immediately known to him. does not understand the idea of dating until it is specifically explained. They are granted knowledge on the Holy Grail ritual itself, but only as much as the outside Masters are told. They do not know of its true purpose in being a method requiring all seven to be sacrificed to reach the Root, only believing it to be a war for a single wish. The knowledge can change upon the nature of the war changing, allowing knowledge of the two teams of Servants and factions of the to be given to them. They are not granted knowledge on other Heroes through the Grail, but rather from knowledge gained within the Throne of Heroes. Witnessing traits of other Servants can allow them to deduce their True Names with the knowledge even if they are from incompatible eras. Aberrations like Saber, who is not part of the Throne of Heroes due to her circumstances, are able to identify those whose legends would have been known to them in life, such as , but cannot identify the legends of later Heroic Spirits like even after being directly named. Variations See . Summoning Masters summon their Servants at the start of each ritual. Different system possess different means of facilitating the summoning. Fuyuki-based Systems Under systems based upon the Fuyuki ritual, there are several factors that determine which Heroic Spirit the Master will summon. It is general that the seven participating Masters are all magi due to requiring basic magecraft to properly perform the summoning, but the quality of the Masters does not matter so long as the most basic summoning requirements are met to fill out the Grail's requirement of seven Servants being manifested. Upon selecting the Masters, the Grail distributes the massive amount of magical energy it has gathered among them to facilitate the process.12 Performing a summoning ritual facilitates the process in which the copy of the Heroic Spirit is brought into the chosen class container. Most Masters will prepare a catalyst with which to summon their desired Heroic Spirit, but it is not absolutely necessary. Without a specific artifact, the Grail will, rather than base it on their power, choose a Servant based upon similarities to the summoner's own nature. When choosing based on power with a catalyst, bad compatibility may make forming a bond impossible, bringing about hardships without being able to have faith in each other. When allowing for a good affinity, it may bring forth a weaker Servant, and it is possible that a single mistake could rouse bad feelings between them due to the resemblance in their personalities being so close. Summoning Ritual While the are generally specific, their main goal in the Holy Grail War system is to act as a precaution to create a bond with a perfect, reliable Servant. They really only require a summoning circle, even if unskilled, and a catalyst can bypass the need of chanting a spell. Doing so can create aberrations like being placed into a normally unsuitable class or having a bad connection with her Master that does not allow her to receive magical energy through normal methods. is a complete anomaly in that he is able to complete the ritual without even meaning to summon a Servant, simply by "fiddling" with the magical energy in the area. The connection to his Servant is spontaneously established, and it is unknown if it can be called a miracle, luck, or an achievement of his own latent potential. It is possible to specify in the summoning ritual that the Servant be placed under the Berserker class for those familiar with the workings of the Grail System. By adding in a specific line, and the family, as members of the Three Founding Families, were able to choose this class during the and Wars respectively. In the , each faction has a summoning ritual according to the color they represent. Catalyst are symbols and holy relics used to attract the desired Heroic Spirit. Requiring something with a connection to the hero, it can be anything from a sword, armor, a talisman, or even their bones. While something like is an artifact holding great power on its own, it is unable to help summon a Servant. If the catalyst is one that is particularly weak, or if it is one with a connection to many different Heroic Spirits, the Heroic Spirit among the candidates that has good affinity with the Master will be chosen.17 Some are those that have only been connected to a single Heroic Spirit, allowing them to be brought forth regardless of affinity with the Master. Catalysts are extremely valuable, and it can take much effort depending on the Servant the Master wishes to summon. The , having started a collection of the esoterica of thaumaturgy for generations since ancient times, has a grand number of catalysts "numbering among the stars." is able to order a relic from Macedonia, while the have to specifically have excavated from Cornwall. Within the world, the spread of the Holy Grail War system means many catalysts quickly disappearing over seventy years and numerous Grail Wars. Especially those of , , and have been scattered and lost over time, and specifically collects desired artifacts over decades to procure enough excellent Heroic Spirits. The Association still has enough even then to easily provide seven catalysts to their on a short notice.